Just around the corner from the FPJ Conferences - West Midlands event’s venue The Stratford Manor in Stratford-upon-Avon, lies the company Wealmoor. A family business with a history, the premium-end and niche grower and exporter has been in the spotlight more often than it would like over the last three years - not least because of the fatal fire that swept its Stratford packhouse and office three years ago in November 2007.
The company had famously bought the site as an addition to its London facility, from the liquidated fresh produce big fish Bomfords in August that year, and it was the start to a major expansion that was going to see Wealmoor become one of the largest hubs for premium fresh produce. But obviously this was not meant to be, not straightaway at least. One of the biggest headlines in the fresh produce industry, and indeed in the local and national news, the facility in Stratford-upon-Avon was gutted.
Sales and marketing head Mark Horton is keen not to focus on the fire, as it tragically took the lives of four local firefighters and remains a raw memory to all those affected, and the company also wishes to be respectful and sensitive to the families affected. Much controversy surrounded the cause of the fire and the police investigation is still ongoing.
In addition to this, the fire resulted in a two-year long uphill struggle for both the company as a financial entity and the staff that had to experience the aftermath of the fire itself and relocate to a temporary site. After a great deal of unrelenting press and media attention at the time, as well as co-operating continually with the police investigation, it is understandable that Horton wants to concentrate on other issues.
“We kept as many of the staff employed as possible, which was most of them, and we were back at the original site by October 2009,” he says. “The Wealmoor Atherstone site has been fully up and running with a packhouse, coldstore and office facilities for a year now. It was a hard decision to make to rebuild in the same spot and we wanted to remain respectful to the people that died. On balance, it was the right thing to do, as all of our staff are based in the area and the company provides a big injection into the local economy in the region.”
Walking around the Wealmoor Atherstone facility with no prior knowledge of the struggles, you would never know what it had been through. And now the expansion the company set out to achieve three years ago is a reality.
“We work with a lot of the growers in the region and have long-standing relationships with them,” says Horton. “Premium products like Tenderstem broccoli, beans, asparagus and fresh-cut herbs work well in this area, which is ideally situated due to the soils, climate and farming systems.
“Our objectives haven’t changed at all; the fire was a setback and contributed to a difficult couple of years, along with the most volatile and adverse financial headwind for years - in a fast-paced industry that just doesn’t stand still. But basically we have picked up where we left off. We chose to purchase a second site to increase our capacity in a core production region for high-end British product, where it was logistically possible to build up a hub. We are clear in our objectives and have a good position in the market.”
As a testament to the company’s triumph in the face of great adversity, Wealmoor won the Fresh Direct Re:fresh Overall Produce Trader of the Year award in May, a month after the company suffered another blow when chairman and founder Rati Dhanani sadly passed away.
A pioneer of export horticulture from Kenya in the 1960s, Dhanani established a Kenyan business to grow potatoes and onions - which had previously only been available as imports in the country - and was famously granted an audience with president Jomo Kenyatta to discuss a vision for horticulture in the newly independent east African country. He and his partner established Kenya Horticultural Exporters and an airfreight market for beans and exotic vegetables in the UK, closely followed by the commercial development of mangoes, papayas and other exotic fruits. Brought up in Kenya and India, Dhanani established a philosophy at the heart of the Wealmoor business of responsible trade and practical support to many positive projects.
“We hadn’t entered the
Re:fresh awards for five years,” explains Horton. “It had obviously been a tough couple of years and we thought it was the right moment to revisit it. It was very fortunate that we won the overall winner award, but sad although apt that it collided with the death of such an influential person in our business. But the award really was a tribute to the principles the business was built on and he was a great figurehead for the family.”
Wealmoor’s roots are firmly embedded in Kenya and the country remains a significant source for the worldwide company. Horton has travelled to Kenya and Africa in general many times and maintains that Wealmoor is still the considerate and ethically strong company it has always been. “Africa is changing rapidly; I first went to Africa for the company in 2002 and things have moved on so quickly in just eight years. It is exciting to see the horticulture now in place over there and the influence of farming operations in the way of providing local jobs, hospitals and improvements within the community.”
Wealmoor’s business concept fits in well within the West Midlands, with the company growing and sourcing the many vegetables it brings over to the UK out of season. “We recognise that there is an interest in regional produce or regionality and certainly in seasonal food. The regional marketplace needs to be improved and hubs and infrastructure are essential to taking this offer forward - another area in which we can add value to the region.”
Horton will be joining a debate entitled Making the Supply Chain Work at the FPJ Conferences - West Midlands event in Stratford on 9 November, along with QV Foods’ director Simon Martin, EFFP retail consultant Liz Bowles and Promar International’s Andrew McLay. “The industry needs to understand and showcase what it can do in this region and engage in the debate,” Horton says.
5 QUICK QUESTIONS FOR HORTON
Do you get your 5 A DAY?
I try, but probably not as much as five in a day, I’m afraid!
Favourite fruit or vegetable?
Definitely fresh asparagus.
First meal you ever made?
Probably something dodgy at university like a chilli or a drunken stirfry.
Best thing about your job?
It’s the growing part that interests me the most and seeing the crops grow is the best bit. If you’re not passionate about growing then you wouldn’t be in the business.
How did you get into the industry?
I grew up in a farming environment and went to Harper Adams University College to study agri-food and food marketing. I have been in horticulture for 20 years, in one way or another.
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